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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Upstream CSG: transitioning from project delivery to operational excellence for large-scale upstream assets

Russ Maney
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Partners In Performance

The APPEA Journal 56(1) 65-74 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15006
Published: 2016

Abstract

Multiple providers have spent $75 billion building upstream CSG to LNG production facilities in Australia during the past decade. Heretofore, their focus has been on completing construction on budget and on time to first gas sailing in tankers.

Large project delivery-focused organisations were created at great cost. Meanwhile, during this construction period, oil prices (to which LNG prices are tied) have fallen by ~50%.

The challenge now for CSG to LNG providers is to transition from a one-time project delivery focus to an ongoing, efficient operation focus—at lower than expected costs.

This case study describes how one CSG to LNG provider is successfully transitioning from project delivery to operations excellence by:

  • Optimising gas flow from wells to ships—transitioning from a vertical focus on one-time construction of a chain of facilities (wells, compression, pipelines, liquefaction) to a horizontal focus on continuous operation of a production chain.

  • Maximising uptime and optimising performance— recognising that a significant percentage of thousands of wells/kilometres of pipelines, dozens of field compression stations, and numerous support (power and water treatment) facilities will have problems at any one time; operations and maintenance crews and equipment must be continuously targeted at highest priorities.

  • Maximising internal and contractor labour productivity—realising that the largest variable cost is operations and maintenance labour, LNG producers must drive productivity by systematically maximising tool time, as well as being continually focused on the right wells/facilities at the right times. Across such vast geographies, optimised planning and scheduling is essential.

Russ Maney is a Principal with Partners in Performance (PIP), a global business process improvement consulting firm that specialises in energy production and distribution and other heavy industries. He has been a Principal at PIP since 2011.

Russ has 16 years’ experience in consulting, including five years at PIP, five years at McKinsey and Company, and three years at Forrester Research. He also has 16 years’ experience in line management, having worked across many industries including oil and gas, electric utilities, chemicals, mining, and telecommunications.

Russ has Bachelor of Science (Chemical Engineering) and Master of Business Administration degrees.

Russ.Maney@pipint.com